Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

Caia stared impassively back at the wolf. She’d hoped Alexa would just get over that but no such luck. Nothing weird had happened since the mysterious calculus solution appeared in her notebook, so Caia was happy to just forget about the strange incidents. She was afraid there would be questions, and trouble, if Alexa did mention it to Lucien.

“You know I didn’t do that, Alexa.”

She snorted. “Oh, goddess, are we still on that track?”

The bell rang. “No one here cares about your designs on Lucien.” Okay, that was a lie. “Do what you want. Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”

“You don’t fool me, Caia.”

“Come on.” Sebastian guided Caia and Jaeden past the she-devil. “You’re delusional, you know that?”

They had gone only a few steps when Jaeden threw over her shoulder, “In more ways than one. Lucien will never choose you. Don’t you think he would have already?”

“She’s exhausting,” Caia groaned as they walked to class. “Every time I get into it with her, I feel like I’ve stepped into an episode of Gossip Girl.”

“What girl?” the two of them asked in unison.

Sometimes Caia forgot that because of her long period of isolation from the pack, she’d watched a lot more television than they had. “TV show.”

“Oh, yeah.” Jaeden nodded. “I’ve never watched it. Is that the one with the annoying girls with so much money, they have to resort to cruelty and manipulation out of sheer boredom?”

“Yeah.” Caia snorted, eyeing her suspiciously. “Sure you haven’t watched at least a couple of episodes?”

“We—”

“Don’t let her get to you,” Sebastian interrupted, redirecting the conversation to Alexa. His eyes were concerned as he patted Caia’s shoulder. “Ignore her.”

Caia nodded. She’d try.

But that day in English, with the she-devil sitting right beside her, she couldn’t help but have a different kind of daydream, one in which Alexa was Lucien’s mate, and she kept Caia in a cage as an amusing pet. Lucien would come over to the cage to poke and prod her with a stick, to the delight of his new bride.

“Miss Ribeiro?”

“Hmm,” she mumbled, wincing as if she’d really felt the prod of that stick.

“Caia?”

“Huh?” She blinked and realized her English teacher was asking her a question. She straightened, knocking her book to the floor. The class snickered, and she tried to hide her blush.

“Thank you for joining us, Miss Ribeiro,” the teacher said.

“Sorry,” she said and glanced at Alexa. The girl gloated. Ugh.

Sure she was gorgeous, but Lucien really be attracted to someone like Alexa?

Why did it matter to her anyway?

Caia needed to stop thinking about her Pack Leader. She didn’t even recognize this lovelorn person she’d become. She should avoid Lucien at all costs.

Lucien heard the chime of the bells above his store’s main door and the sound was soon followed by the familiar, sweet scent of Caia. Pleasure suffused him. She’d come to him of her own accord. Grinning to himself, he wandered out of his workshop and into the store to see her running her hand along one of the rocking chairs he’d designed.

“Like it?”

She nodded. “I don’t know how you do that.”

“Just something I always could do.” He shrugged, liking the admiration in her eyes.

He also sensed her shyness though as she walked around the room, keeping her attention on his furniture. He watched her, enjoying the way her long hair slid across her shoulders, softer than silk. When his thoughts wandered to wondering what that hair would look like spread across his pillow, he gave himself a mental slap.

“You here for a reason?” Lucien prodded, hoping his thoughts weren’t written on his face. He concentrated on trying to keep amusement at her presence out of his voice. It seemed to annoy her when she thought he was laughing at her.

Finally Caia looked up, stopping to sit in one of the dining room chairs. She halted abruptly and flushed. “Do you mind?” she asked.

“No, it’s what it’s there for.”

Caia relaxed and eased back into the chair. “I’m actually here about the car.”

She was keeping the damn car. He was about to tell her so when she lifted her hand up to stop him from saying anything.

“I’m keeping the car.”

“Okay. Good.”

“But on one condition.”

His eyes narrowed. He was used to giving the orders around here and setting the conditions. Usually, that would be his reply to such a statement, but it caught in the back of his throat. He cleared it. “What condition?”

“That you let me get a job.”

That wasn’t what he’d expected.

No. He had the luxury of being able to take care of his kinswomen. His mother didn’t have to work, and he hadn’t demanded Irini get a job when she’d come home because she’d been working her ass off all the time she’d been gone. He wasn’t some old-fashioned chauvinist, but the women of his family only worked if they wanted to; if they didn’t need to, then he didn’t want to make them. Besides, Caia was too young for a job. She should be concentrating on school.